1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to processing of geological data and more particularly to correlation of identified features between well logs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Well log correlation can provide useful information regarding subsurface geology. For example, by matching features between well logs, an accurate interpolation may be made for intervening subsurface regions. Where individual layers may be correlated across several wells, it may be possible to determine something about the depositional environment and/or sequence stratigraphic interpretation of the subsurface region, which may, in turn, provide information regarding the location or accessibility of hydrocarbon resources.
Historically, expert analysis has been used to correlate features between well logs, relying on time-consuming manual review and interpretation of numerous images. As machine vision and pattern recognition have developed into mature technologies, computer methods have been developed for using pattern recognition to automatically correlate features between wells. In general, these methods are restricted to well-to-well correlation for pairs of wells, without an ability to solve field-wide correlation problems.